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George Russell says he would love to race the NĆ¼rburgring Nordschleife and has held talks with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff about a possible lap-record attempt. Russell said: "I did once try having a conversation with Toto about putting the F1 car around there and breaking the all-time lap record. Right now, I'm focused on trying to win an F1 world championship. Hopefully, when I've got four under my belt, I'll go and race at the Nordschleife during my F1 season!"
Toto Wolff says it is "not correct" to criticise Ferrari for failing to sign Andrea Kimi Antonelli when he was a kart racer, insisting Mercedesā junior programme has been crucial to the Italianās development. Wolff said: "I hear people saying things like: 'Ferrari should have discovered him when he was young.' But that is not correct, because the true value of our Mercedes junior programme has been creating the right environment for him to grow, giving him the best tools and supporting him through difficult situations. Talent is only the starting point."
Lando Norris said driving his McLaren 750S on the NĆ¼rburgring Nordschleife was āthe most funā he has had all year, after taking the road car around the track during the spring break. Norris said: "Honestly, it was the most fun I've had all year. It was also so much fun because it's a track I've driven a lot in Gran Turismo and iRacing. I've known the Nordschleife from the simulator for years. It's one of those tracks that everyone wants to drive. Whether you're a racing driver or not ā it's always cool to do it because it's so unique."
RacingNews365 reports Christian Horner is now free to return to Formula 1 after his non-compete clause expired on 8 May, ending a 10-month period in which his Red Bull Racing contract barred him from joining a rival team.
Lance Stroll says this will not be his last year in Formula 1 because he still believes Aston Martin can deliver on its potential. Stroll said: "No, because I still have a lot of belief in this project, and the project is so far from our potential. If, in two or three years, I'm sitting on the sofa and I'm watching two green cars at the front of the field, and I'm not a part of it, it will bother me."
Sergio Perez says Cadillac are āheading in the right directionā but need to find performance quickly to avoid being left behind in F1ās 2026 development race, after the opening four grands prix of the season. Perez said: "There is a bit of work to do there, but I'm confident that we are heading in the right direction. I can see at times, as soon as the degradation starts to keep enough, we can be with the midfield, but they are just able to pick up the pace quite a lot. Still, [it is] a long season, but obviously, we are in a massive hurry to find performance, because we know that Aston is going to be improving, and we don't want to left behind."
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says the teamās latest upgrades were a ādefinitive step forwardā in Miami as it moved closer to the front in qualifying. Mekies said: "There is a definitive step forward. So to see us this weekend qualifying six tenths away from pole on Friday and less than two tenths away from pole on Saturday is a big indication of the size of the progress. Compared to where we were, it's something much better than anything we have been able to show this year."
Allan McNish said taking on the role of Audiās Formula 1 racing director was a āno-brainerā because he has been involved with the project since it began, after stepping up following Jonathan Wheatleyās departure. Allan McNish said: "I've known this project since day one. I've been involved in it from literally the beginning in different roles, so on that side, it was quite obvious for me. It was a no-brainer from my personal perspective when I got the telephone call and then went to have the discussion, that yes, 100%. Because again, I've lived it from day one, so why wouldn't I?"
Aston Martin and Honda say they have made clear progress in addressing the vibration and reliability problems that blighted the start of their 2026 works power unit partnership. Honda Racing Corporation trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara said ācountermeasures from both sidesā were required because the issue spread into the chassis. Those measures were introduced for the Miami GP after one AMR26 stayed in Japan for analysis following Suzuka, and Orihara said they worked well, with both cars completing the sprint and the grand prix without āany major reliability issueā. Fernando Alonso reported no vibrations in the race, while Lance Stroll said there were āless vibrationsā. Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack said the team was happy with the current state, while Orihara added the next focus is optimising energy management and drivability, noting āa lot of room to improveā on the power unit.
Toto Wolff says the bigger challenge with Kimi Antonelliās rise is shielding the 19-year-old from the hype and demands in Italy, with the Mercedes driver currently leading the World Championship. Wolff said: "The bigger problem is the Italian public. Now that they are not qualified for football, it's all about Sinner and Antonelli. So it's the two that are superstars, and that is something which we need to contain. There's so much requests for his time, from the media, from sponsors, and it's it's on us to keep the handbrake on that."
Williams team principal James Vowles says the major upgrade introduced in Miami was originally planned for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, after failed crash tests left the team behind schedule and forced it to prioritise getting a car ready. Vowles said: "As we started to fall further and further behind, frankly we just needed to get a car together. So we had to forego this [Miami] update, which was the Melbourne update. It's often difficult to fully understand why we couldn't just turn it around. But at the point where you start to fall late, by a few weeks, things catastrophically fall apart. Now though there's a backlog of performance items that we have to deliver in a timely fashion."
Zak Brown says Formula 1 should lock in 20 permanent grands prix and use a further eight events in a rotation system, as he argues the sport cannot race more than 24 times a year because of the ābrutalā schedule. Brown said: "There are countries lining up for grands prix. We can't... we're now having to get into alternating some grands prix. So, I think we need to, and I would be a fan of, locking in 20 permanent grands prix and then having maybe eight that rotate every other year. It's a way to expand geographically into 28 markets, but we can't race more than 24 times a year; it's a pretty brutal schedule."
Toto Wolff says he is scared of the reaction Kimi Antonelli could face when he starts making mistakes, as the Mercedes driver continues his strong start to the season. Wolff said: "That's exactly what scares me. Kimi is young, he's charismatic, a little big star... but after a great start, he could have some bad moments, and I don't want the public to start saying, 'Oh, what's happening? We were wrong about him?' It will all be part of the growth process but the response from the public, especially in Italy, scares us a little. We have to treat him like a rough diamond."
George Russell says the FIAās work with the drivers on recent rule changes has been the most collaborative he has seen, after meetings in April to discuss possible changes to the new power unit regulations. Russell said: "I think there's been some really good conversations, to be honest, with the FIA and a number of drivers, and I think they have listened to the concerns. It's definitely the most collaborative they've ever been in this regard, which is positive. I think we concluded that they want to include us more when it comes to future regulations as well."
Charles Leclerc says Lewis Hamiltonās past success in Formula 1 has been driven by the āapproachā he brings to his work, after closely watching his team-mate since Hamilton joined Ferrari. Leclerc said: "Since the day Lewis arrived in the team, for me, it was a huge opportunity to learn from him. I analysed every single thing he does as a preparation, all the way to when he jumps into the car. And then I would say the driving, it's more specific from track to track. We've got our own strengths and sometimes I will look at him on a particular corner and I will analyse that, but that's more specific track to track. But I think the approach is what made him have all the success that he's had in the past."
Alex Albon says Williams must stop relying on strong starts to score points after the teamās first double points finish of the season at the Miami Grand Prix. Albon said: "I want to wait and see. Last year, I think I finished fourth in the Sprint race and fifth in the main race. We know this track goes well for us, let's see in Canada. If we can get a little bit higher up in qualifying and not rely on good starts, we might be able to score in the points a bit more regularly."
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